Lakers plan to sign forward Travis Wear for final 11 games of season

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The short-handed Lakers plan to sign Travis Wear to a contract for the remainder of the season after the former UCLA star’s second 10-day contract expired following the 128-125 loss in New Orleans. He has appeared in 10 games, averaging 4.7 points in 11.9 minutes per game while shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

NEW ORLEANS — The Lakers have given no clear sign of when they expect their injured perimeter players to return to the court. But they are making a move to ensure they don’t lose another one for the final 11 games of the season.

The Lakers plan to sign Travis Wear to a contract for the remainder of the season after the former UCLA star’s second 10-day contract expired following the 128-125 loss in New Orleans.

Wear scored six points in 14 minutes, with both of his baskets coming on 3-pointers.

He has appeared in 10 games, averaging 4.7 points in 11.9 minutes per game while shooting 38.5 percent from the arc.

Before joining the Lakers on March 3, Wear had not played in the NBA since 2014-15, when he appeared in 51 games with the New York Knicks. After participating in the Lakers’ two previous training camps, and starring for their development team, the South Bay Lakers, he made an impression when his opportunity came with the Lakers.

“He holds his own in the NBA,” Coach Luke Walton said. “With his shooting and the way that he sees the game, he’s definitely a very capable NBA player. He’s done a really nice job of representing himself and us in the two 10-days that he’s had.”

The Lakers have been decimated on the wing, with Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Channing Frye all sidelined with injuries. Frye suited up for the Lakers for the first time since Feb. 14, after undergoing an appendectomy over the All-Star break.

“I’d like to get him a little more time to get his rhythm back,” Walton said. “(Wednesday) was his first real practice, but he looked good.”

Ingram, meanwhile, has missed 10 straight games, but appears to be nearing a return. While the Lakers will not practice on Friday in Memphis – they face the Grizzlies on Saturday – Walton said the Lakers could simulate a practice for Ingram depending on how he feels.

“If Brandon’s feeling good,” Walton said, “we have a gym and we’ll go over there with some of the guys who didn’t play and play some three-on-three or four-on-four and see if we can get him going a little bit.”

Ingram, the Lakers’ leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, participated in part of the Lakers’ shootaround on Thursday morning, marking his first team activity since straining his groin on March 1.

CELT-RESPECT?

This time there were no fireworks between Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo as the two former Celtics point guards managed to coexist on the court. When the Lakers were last in New Orleans, on Feb. 14, both players were ejected after a scuffle that seemed to stem from Rondo’s claims that Thomas did not deserve a video tribute in his return to Boston this season.

It was just Thomas’ second game with the Lakers when he found himself in the locker room after just two minutes on the court. In that brief encounter, Thomas made an impression on his head coach. While Rondo was yelling and trying to get a reaction from Thomas, the newest Laker remained poised, even chuckling.

“Players who can do what he’s done in the fourth quarters of games, in clutch moments, are pretty good with controlling their emotions,” Walton said. “He kind of showed that then. I think most people would have gotten really upset and heated and would have turned into a complete screaming match or whatever, but he kept his cool the whole time.”

Rondo got the last laugh on Thursday, however. The veteran point guard poured in 24 points to go with 10 assists, and scored five of the Pelicans’ final seven points to steal the win from the Lakers.

Bill Oram covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group. He covered the Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake Tribune. He is the (usually) bearded guy in the background wearing a University of Montana hat.